We Are Young
by Keira Mariano
Summary: Genevieve couldn't believe it was happening. She didn't want to believe it was happening. To her, she needed more time. She needed to prepare and say her goodbyes and. . .and think. As simple and as stupid as it might sound, all Genevieve wanted to do was think. But war knew how to turn everyone's lives around.


_Tonight_  
 _We are young_  
 _So let's set the world on fire_  
 _We can burn brighter_  
 _Than the sun_

-We Are Young; **by Fun. [feat. Janelle Monáe]**

* * *

The sheer panic and urgency in the room was so thick, it was suffocating. It was hard to think, let alone concentrate. There was no telling what would happen, and that was the scary part. For Genevieve, she _wanted_ to know what would happen. She wanted to know if everything would end happily ever after, or if her life would be upturned by some _war_. It was hard to say, and frankly, it was frightening. The unpredictability of war always had a way of sending shivers up Genevieve's spine. But she knew that sitting around and pondering over it wouldn't change a single thing. Things escalated far too much, and evacuation was necessary to ensure survival.

 **( ͡°( ͡° ͜ʖ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ʖ ͡°) ͡°)**

"Gen, _please_. You _have_ to hurry." Genevieve's mother, Ciara, was waiting anxiously in her daughter's bedroom. "We don't have a lot of time left."

"I _know_ , I'm trying." The fifteen year old was scrambling around her room, trying to get as many personal belongings as possible. In her mind, she didn't want to believe that her world was ending. She didn't want to believe that everything she came to know and love was changing forever. But that's the cost of war.

"Look, you don't need to bring a lot of things," Ciara exclaimed, hurrying over to grab Genevieve's shoulders. "Okay? You don't need to bring a lot of things. The chances of us coming back here are slim to none."

"You can't mean that."

"Do you honestly think our people will be able to recovery from this?" Ciara's voice became sharp, almost venomous. "Do you think our _land_ will recover from this? The damage that's been done here is too great, it will never be restored."

Shaking her head, Genevieve yanked herself out of her mother's grasp. "The land will be restored," she exclaimed. "That's what our people believed in, right? That one day, the land will be restored after a great disaster."

"Those were _stories_! _Fairy_ _tales_!" Tears formed in Ciara's eyes. "We will probably never come back here, we have to save _ourselves_."

With tears forming in her own eyes, Genevieve felt her throat close up. She didn't want to believe her mother's words, but she had a feeling, deep down, that it was probably true. Genevieve's people had been told stories — supposed legends — about how a great cataclysmic, maybe even apocalyptic, event that would leave the surviving native people completely uprooted. But, it would only be a matter of time before a hero would emerge with a Legendary Pokémon to help rebuild the homeland. That was the story Genevieve had been told. That was the story her people believed. And for Ciara to claim it was just some fairy tale infuriated the fifteen year old.

"You're wrong," Genevieve exclaimed. A few stray tears fell. "The land will be restored, just like the stories said. It will be rebuilt and we'll be able to come home."

Shaking her head, Ciara quickly wiped her eyes and grabbed her daughter's forearm, pulling her towards the doorway. "We don't have time for this," she murmured. "If we don't leave now, they'll come for us next."

Quickly grabbing her backpack, Genevieve slung it over one shoulder as she followed her mother out of her bedroom.

 **( ͡°( ͡° ͜ʖ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ʖ ͡°) ͡°)**

Genevieve's homeland hadn't _always_ been afflicted with war. There had been a time where it was very peaceful, where everyone got along and no one was trying to survive. But there were always those who weren't entirely satisfied with the way things were. Drastic changes had to be made in order for those few unhappy people to feel as though their needs were being met. Those changes would eventually alter the lives of every other person in the nation.

Requests turned into demands; demands turned into violence; violence lead to a broken nation and an all-out war.*

The former leaders of the land refused to meet the requests of the unsatisfied people. They refused to meet the demands, and were in no way threatened by the bouts of violence that came afterward. But when those unhappy people gained enough followers, they declared war on their own homeland. And they won. Anyone who didn't see things from their point of view were hunted down and taken. No one had the slightest clue what happened to them after that. For Genevieve, things were especially difficult for her and her family. Ciara's brother, one of Genevieve's uncles, was a leader of the nation. He'd help make and pass laws, he was also in charge of money and the medical needs of the people. He was the first to be taken down when war was declared. Genevieve's family was next on the enemies' list.

That was why leaving was so important. Ciara didn't want to see her family get hurt. That was the _last_ thing she wanted. The only thing she could hope for was safe passage out.

That's all she really wanted.

* * *

 **(A/N):**

 **First, I'd like to apologize for the wait on this chapter. I know it took me way to long to write it, but I was having severe writer's block and I had to put this aside until I knew what I wanted to write. Also, I know this isn't the longest first chapter, but I'm hoping you guys at least find it tolerable. Second, I feel like the reason this first chapter is so short is because I was having difficulties articulating what I wanted to write. I had an idea, I just couldn't find the right words. So yeah. That's about it.**

 **I don't own anything but my OCs, my subplots, and the laptop I'm typing on. If you've got ideas for OCs or subplots, be sure to PM me or leave a review. I'll add them in as soon as possible.**

 **If you want to leave a random fact in the review section, go ahead. It could be on something new or old; it's completely up to you guys.**

 **Thanks!**

 **Keira Mariano**


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